How are adult brain tumors treated?
Three types of standard treatment are used.
Other types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials.
How are metastatic brain tumors treated?
Treatment in a clinical trial

How are adult brain tumors treated?

Different types of treatment are available for patients with adult brain tumor. Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer. When clinical trials show that a new treatment is better than the standard treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment. Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.

Surgery

Surgery is used, when possible, to treat adult brain tumor, as described in the Description section of this summary.

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells. There are two types of radiation therapy. External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the cancer. Internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer. The way the radiation therapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping the cells from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy). When chemotherapy is placed directly into the spinal column, an organ, or a body cavity such as the abdomen, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas (regional chemotherapy). A dissolving wafer may be used to deliver an anticancer drug directly into the brain tumor site after the tumor has been removed by surgery. The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated.

New methods of delivering radiation therapy

• Radiosensitizers: Drugs that make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation. Combining radiation with radiosensitizers may kill more tumor cells.
• Hyperfractionation: Radiation therapy given in smaller-than-usual doses two or three times a day instead of once a day.
• Stereotactic radiosurgery: A radiation therapy technique that delivers radiation directly to the tumor with less damage to healthy tissue. The doctor uses a CT scan or MRI to find the exact location of the tumor. A rigid head frame is attached to the skull and high- dose radiation is directed to the tumor through openings in the head frame, reducing the amount of radiation given to normal brain tissue. This procedure does not involve surgery. This is also called stereotaxic radiosurgery and gamma knife therapy.

Hyperthermia therapy

Hyperthermia therapy is a treatment in which body tissue is exposed to high temperatures to damage and kill cancer cells or to make cancer cells more sensitive to the effects of radiation and certain anticancer drugs.

Biologic therapy

Biologic therapy is a treatment that uses the patient’s immune system to fight cancer. Substances made by the body or made in a laboratory are used to boost, direct, or restore the body’s natural defenses against cancer. This type of cancer treatment is also called biotherapy or immunotherapy.

Tumors that have spread to the brain from somewhere else in the body are usually treated with radiation therapy and/or surgery. Chemotherapy may be used if the primary tumor is the kind that responds well to chemotherapy. Clinical trials are under way to study new treatments.

For some patients, taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice. Clinical trials are part of the cancer research process. Clinical trials are done to find out if new cancer treatments are safe and effective or better than the standard treatment.

Many of today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. Patients who take part in a clinical trial may receive the standard treatment or be among the first to receive a new treatment.

Patients who take part in clinical trials also help improve the way cancer will be treated in the future. Even when clinical trials do not lead to effective new treatments, they often answer important questions and help move research forward.

Some clinical trials only include patients who have not yet received treatment. Other trials test treatments for patients whose cancer has not gotten better. There are also clinical trials that test new ways to stop cancer from recurring (coming back) or reduce the side effects of cancer treatment.

Clinical trials are taking place in many parts of the country. In the following lists of treatments for the different types of brain tumors, a link to search results for current clinical trials is included for each section. These have been retrieved from NCI's clinical trials database. For some types of tumors, there may not be any trials listed. Check with your doctor for clinical trials that are not listed here but may be right for you.

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